Lies, Damn Lies And Statistics

Well, faithful readers, we have arrived: we have now surpassed #400 on the GonzoPR blog, established in 2008, when I retired from Eugene Water & Electric Board. A humble operation at first, it has since turned into a monster. My favorite subjects are travel, sports and, much to the chagrin of some of my friends, politics.

However, a funny thing happened on the way to determining statistics as laid out by Google on GonzoPR. The rankings are the same but the numbers vary widely. In other words, they don't exactly jive. Be that as it may, here are the top ten posts, the greatest hits as it were, on Gonzo PR, starting with Alpine Adventure, the clear winner.

The post presaged our trip to Zurich to take in the sights of the mostly the German side of Switzerland. On this trip, we stayed at the Hotel X-tra in downtown Zurich. We visited the Jungfraujoch, Lucerne and Interlaken, Reinfall and Schaffhausen, Liechtenstein, Heidiville and much, much more.

Number two is King Of The Blues, a missive on Riley B. King, otherwise known as B.B. King, an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. I've seen B.B. a number of times over the years, the first time at Springer's Ballroom in the hinterlands of southeast Portland near Gresham on the path to Mt. Hood and Central Oregon.

Next up on the hit parade is Defining Public Relations, a treatise on the subject of public relations, a practice and profession that I became familiar with as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Oregon School of Journalism in the 70's and early 1980s, followed by 33 years as a professional and instructor.

The Trinity Mine is next, a failed experiment to mine precious metals near the Glacier Peak Wilderness, where I toiled as a ranger while working my way through college. Having worked previously on the Malheur National Forest, I was smitten with a girl who worked seasonally on the Lake Wenatchee Ranger District.

Weighing in at number five is Berchtesgaden And Eagle's Nest, which described our time in Munich and our exploration of the castles of Mad King Ludwig, and his suspected murder. We also spent time in downtown Munich and explored the city known for Octoberfest, when an additional six million people cram into a city of two million.

Rounding out the top ten starting at number six is Willkommen Bei Den Bayerischen Alpen, which presaged our trip to Munich. We visited castles, toured The Eagle's Nest, saw the BMW headquarters, toured the Paulaner distributor, visited biergartens, ate at the finest restaurants and stayed at The Hotel Deutches Theatre.

Number 7 is Castle Keep, part of our tour that included visits to Mad King Ludwig's castles, including the Neuschwanstein and Linderhof castles (above) and Hohenschwangau, an older castle where Ludwig grew up. As part of that tour, we also visited Oberommergau, a small town that resembles Leavenworth, Washington.

Coming in at number 8 is the Italian Riviera And Cinque Terre from one of five trips we took to The Motherland to locate our cousins, the Sanguinetis, who live in the hill country of Liguria in a little village called Isolona in the district of Orero near Cicagna, where my beloved grandmother lived before escaping Italy for Portland, Oregon.

Next up, at number 9 is Getting Around: Plane, Trains And Automobiles, a missive about how to get around while traveling in Europe. I never rent a car; I guess I'm paranoid. But the public transportation options in Europe are simply wonderful, whether you're in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain or anyplace else.

Finally, weighing in at number 10 is Der Zugspitze And Garmisch-Partenkirchen, another great adventure to Germany's highest peak and the little town with a ski resort that sits at its base. The cable car ride (pictured) is not for the feint of heart. And now, as Porky Pig would say, "that's all folks." That's GonzoPR's top ten.